The present invention relates to a golf mat presenting a golf ball hitting surface that accurately simulates natural turf to the golfer.
Many golf shots require the golfer to swing the golf club such that the head of the club passes through and downwardly of the golf ball position to take a divot out of the ground. The intricacies of the game of golf are such that a golfer is required to put in innumerable hours of practice in order to obtain a desired level of proficiency and to maintain this level. The practicing of fairway golf shots requiring the golfer to swing the club head down and through the ball has proven exceedingly difficult and time consuming due to the limited number of natural turf areas upon which the golfer may practice and the continuing need to replace the divots taken out during practice.
In view of the limited availability of such natural turf practice areas, many artificial turf devices have been developed over the years in an attempt to accurately simulate the feel of natural turf to the golfer. Many of these artificial turf devices have portions that are movable along the path of travel of the club head and incorporate springs, rubber bands, or the like to return the movable portion to its initial position. Other devices have used movable belts with artificial turf surfaces movable in a direction along the path of travel of the club head. While these devices have achieved a modicum of success, they have proven to be too complex to be marketed at a reasonable price and either non-portable or too cumbersome for the golfer to readily transport the device.
Golf practice mats are also known which comprise an artificial turf surface bonded to a base formed of foam rubber or other deformable material. While these devices are less complex than those having the movable portions and are easily transported by the golfer, they have not proven totally successful insofar as they do not accurately simulate the feel of natural turf to the golfer.